Financially Illiterate

Jay-Z dropped 4:44 and the world went crazy! Well, I surely did! I can’t say I’m an avid Jay-Z fan but when I hear a good song that he has released I usually play it out. “Smile”, “Moonlight”, “Caught Their Eyes” and “The OJ Story” are no exception.

Now let’s talk about “The OJ Story” or maybe just the financial advice Mr. Carter gave us. These are things many of us already know but have never taken heed to.

“You wanna know what’s more important than throwin’ away money at a strip club? Credit”

As someone who has a very hard time saving money and is never satisfied with the way my credit score looks, it hit me. Why is it so hard for us to save money and still have nice things. Some of us don’t have the ability to stay home with our parents while in school, so we have no choice but to work a job, or two while being a full-time student. Depending on what kind of job you have, it can be pretty difficult to take care of yourself and your responsibilities. I myself couldn’t stay home because everything I was doing in and for college was a little out of the way for me. I also couldn’t stay on campus due to missing a deadline. I am finally at a place where I can save money, and it is so refreshing when I look at my bank account. It took me 4 years but I now have some idea on how to save money. I have a major blessing coming my way which is causing me to save money, and along with that, I’m still able to maintain a significant amount in my account. I’m far from a financial adviser, accountant, or anything that involves numbers.

There’s so much history behind Black people, and an inability to save and pass on those skills. Can we turn that around!? As I listened to The Story of OJ, he hit me in the head with some ideas. It’s time we as a community start owning things rather than renting. Furthermore, those material things we own should be something of value a home, or fine art. It is true that the value of items doubles or triples in time, and like heirlooms, we should own and pass them down through our family lineage.

“I bought some artwork for 1 million
2 years later, that shit worth 2 million
Few years later, that shit worth 8 million
I can’t wait to give this shit to my children”

After this song, I’m interested in looking into stocks and bonds. I like the idea of sitting money down and allowing it to increase over time. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Some tips on saving I have gained over these years (some of these are easier if you live at home with parents):

Save and live off about 10 to 20% of each check after you pay your bills.

Save to the nearest $100. For example, if you get a check and after you pay all your bills you have $789 left make $89 last until your next paycheck.

Digit: If your banks allows for it, you can link this app to your bank account and forget about it. It takes away small portions of money from your account each day. It’s the epitome of every little thing adds up. Digit allows you to create a goal, and in addition to their standard Rainy Day Fund, they will add money to our goal. I’ve had this app for some time now and after a trial, I trust it enough to allow it to work its magic. I set my goal a month ago and haven’t even looked at it.

If your bank has an app, DELETE It! If you’re anything like myself (hopefully not), you know you have x amount of transfer and you never delegate enough funds, you will use all your transfers. Having the app, makes it too easy for me to spend money I don’t need. If I’m at the mall, out of cash, and I know my account is low…. I’ll just whip out my phone and transfer smh.

I even heard about a 45/35/20 rule. Allocate 45% of your income towards necessities like rent and bills, 35% towards savings and 20% towards non-essential needs aka fun, clothes, and eating out. I’m thinking about trying this myself because I have the tendency to spend too much on things I know I don’t need to.

We should also make habits out of checking our bank statements and credit scores. Bank statements literally outline every single transaction you make therefore, you can scan and point out what you frivolously buy. Of course, you can get these from your bank, either monthly by mail or online. If you’re in your early 20s and have bad credit make deliberate moves towards bettering your credit score. Websites like Annual Credit Report and Credit Karma are great starts.

Look at your bank account and imagine it doubling, tripling in a reasonable time period. Looks good, doesn’t it? I’m open for some more savings tips if you have any, please send them my way. Please and thank you!